Whoever came up with this entry in here and included among the great filmmaker Glauber Rocha works, I salute you, just as much as to the one who
made this compilation of moments from the TV program "Abertura" of which Rocha was the host. It's not like the director of "Terra em Transe" was the actual
director of it, but he was definitely the mastermind behind nearly everything, front, back and center. The ideal entry would be as a TV Series with two
seasons (1979-1980); however, since the information about the program is very scarce and even many episodes were lost such page wouldn't be possible. And why
such acknowledgment? Because it's a highly informative piece, fun, hilarious, borderline chaotic at times as Glauber was, but also a serious and real reflection of Brazilian
society while discussing many important themes during the so-called Abertura ("Opening") of democracy, slowly returning during the final years of the military regime.
What "Abertura" was exactly? Broadcast on the defunct Tupi network on sunday nights, the program led by Glauber Rocha discussed a wide variety of
themes (politics, society, philosophy, culture, etc.) taking advantage that the political opening allowed a less strict censorship of ideas exchange. Like
the amnesty brought at the time, the show used as a tagline the notion of allowing a "broad, general and unrestricted" debate. The documentary takes a few
excerpts from the show, mixing interviews with famous and anonymous figures such as musician/critic Nelson Motta, producer Luiz Carlos Barreto, politician Antônio Carlos
Magalhães, psychoanalyst Eduardo Mascarenhas, among others; countless and long verbose speeches of Glauber criticising the state of art and culture at the time, and a few humored bits with his silent sidekick Severino. There's even a quick behind the scenes moment filmed during "A Idade da Terra" making, Rocha's final
film.
If you really want to get a feel of the idealism and hopes people were starting to get in 1979/1980, with the gradual return of democracy and all
the great thoughts of that time, this is a must-see experience. To think about everything that was predicted right, the things that didn't happen then or
are yet to happen. One of the great moments shown is where a man talks about funding a political party (after years of only two parties, many sectors from
themselves and outsiders began to form their own parties, as new laws allowed that in 1980). I don't remember the guy's name but his ideals for such party,
the free-spirited and liberal notions of justice, inclusion and fairness all sounded spectacular and worth supporting - but that would only happen in more perfect
societies that put education and infrastructure investments at the top of the pyramid.
But besides the seriousness of it all, there's plenty of room for humored bits to make you laugh out loud. Rocha was a master of controversy and he
trashed everything and everyone, criticising "Last Tango in Paris", "Emmanuelle" (1974), "Superman" (1978), his Cinema Novo contemporary directors who were making
bad movies and spitting on the films they did in the past; but he also praised what he considered valuable names and works in Brazilian music, writing, even
making promos for a book of his and urging audiences to watch his latest film. As an interviewer, he was an excellent director. The man prolongs his questions
like crazy and when it's time for the person being interviewed to answer, there he goes with some interruption (but always with some funny remark in between - when he
talks about the great tough women of Northeast region he goes like "Doca Street wouldn't exist in that place"). The interview with the guy on the street was
only cringe because the poor guy didn't know much of anything Glauber was asking.
I truly feels like the kind of program that I'd watch if living at the time. It's highly educational, interesting and inspiring, and even with some
slightly confrontional tone from the host he was very open in hearing different perspectives, inviting people of opposite views as his (though I can't tell
if it actually happened on the show since the figures presented had plenty in common with Glauber, they're all on the same page). To reveal what's behind
the masks that lies in society, to show the real facade of who we are, what we are, what do we represent and the changes we want and no longer hiding
from the unavoidable. That was what "Abertura" was all about, the dialogue of ideas worked brilliantly and respectfully. Here's a chance to see the director
in front of camera, showing his true colors, true passions and with that you can understand a lot more about his films, his message with them and evidence
how consistent he was - despite the poetic ramblings and descriptions he used to deliver. But it's all so fun to watch. 10/10.
